20 Tips for Portfolio School Students Entering the Creative Job Market
Kimberly Easley ✨
![Kimberly Easley ✨]()
Kimberly Easley ✨
Principal Recruiter at Airbnb (Data Science), Founder of Allies in Recruiting (AIR) and my most important job - Mom
- Make your internships count. This is laying the groundwork for the first few years of your career. Your résumé and portfolio tell your story – make it a good one.
- Be prepared for your school portfolio review. Be interesting. Make companies remember you. Draw them in. It is exhausting to be “speed interviewing,” but keep up the energy. You will get through it. Treat each new recruiter who sits down like they are the first one of the day. And connect with them on LinkedIn or any other appropriate channel right after the event. Plus, send a quick note to anyone you meet and respond promptly to their emails if they get to you first.
- Your classmates can be your best supporters. Make sure you have good relationships with your peers. They just may be referring you to us.
- If you have already accepted a job, use the portfolio review as a time to network. Never again will you have 100-plus recruiters from the top agencies in the U.S. in one room all wanting to speak with you. Use your time wisely.
- If there is a happy hour involved at a career event, keep your drinking to a minimum and focus on the networking opportunity.
- Remember…creative recruiters know each other from years of attending events together and share information on the students they are meeting.
- Confidence is great, but if you have too large of an ego, you may turn some folks off. Be personable, engaging and self-assured while leaving the ego at the door.
- Make sure to proofread your résumé AND your portfolio. That includes the actual work. Have friends, parents or fellow students lend their critical eye to your site and résumé. There is nothing more glaring than a typo – and if you are lacking attention to detail, it may end up costing you the interview or job. Yikes.
- Put up your best work. If you are questioning whether to have a project in your book, take it out. Also, take into consideration how much time it will take someone to go through your book. Rethink how many case studies you included. Recruiters don’t have 20 minutes to go through your book, so make every second count.
- Watch someone else go through your portfolio. Is it user-friendly? Any kinks? How do they navigate through your site? What do they click on first? Work out any issues before you start sending out your book.
- Include a bio section. Tell us who you are. Also include a special projects section. Or a link to your blog. Recruiters care about the “who” behind the work.
- Really simple and extremely important — make sure your portfolio link is front and center when applying for a position. Always include the link on your résumé.
- Do more than just apply to a job online. Find the recruiter on LinkedIn, find someone that knows them, do a little homework and reach out to them personally. And then be persistent – just persistent enough for them to notice you.
- Depending on agency structure, most recruiters are your gatekeeper and will be the ones who walk you through the application, interview and offer. Be kind and respect the process.
- Do your homework before you interview. There is nothing worse than silence when you ask someone “What do you know about our company?” Recruiters want to know why you want to work at their company. Be prepared to share the work you have seen produced by that agency/company that you find interesting.
- Know who you are interviewing with and research those folks. If the names aren’t provided right away, kindly ask before your interview. If it’s a creative professional, find their portfolio and then reference it in your meeting. Going the extra mile never hurts.
- Don’t turn down an opportunity to interview if you don’t have an offer yet. You never know what can come of it.
- Make sure you always follow up after an interview. Email is sufficient, but a personalized thank-you note can make you stand out above the rest.
- Keep your social media channels “clean.” Recruiters don’t want to find you complaining about your job and everything else in your life on Twitter. Nor do they want to see your drinking activities on your Facebook feed. Be smart in what you’re showing the world.
- Always be gracious – even if you don’t get the job. A lot of creative hiring is specific to client. You may not be right for one thing, but may be for another. Or you could get referred to someone else via the recruiter or creative network.
Digital Performance Director | Growth Marketing, Content Creation
9yI really enjoyed this article! It was full of great tips. Thanks for sharing, Kimberly!
ACD/Senior Copywriter, currently turning wrenches in a Mazda garage
10ySound advice, I have a few years experience and still needed to hear some of these :)